IT may not be the original opponent for Tyrone McKenna this Friday night, but ‘The Mighty Celt’ predicts a fan-friendly war when he faces Mexico’s Jose Felix for the vacant WBO Inter-Continental light-welterweight title.

The West Belfast southpaw was due to take on Zhankosh Turarov in a rescheduled showdown after the Kazakh was forced out of an April meeting in Dubai just days before fight night, but again the fight failed to materialise with a replacement sought.

McKenna had been offered a much more straightforward assignment that the 29-year-old from Los Mochis who will arrive in Belfast with a record of 39-4-1, but typically, he opted for the harder task and believes the fans are in for a treat once opening bell goes in this potential fight of the night between two men who like to have a tear-up.

“He has 39 wins and 30 KOs - more KOs than I have had fights - and is a tough fighter,” noted the 30-year-old who may have the advantages in height and reach, but will likely meet Felix in the middle of the ring.

“Jamie Conlan, my manager, put two people open this table and asked if wanted this guy (Felix) or another who had a record of 13-3. I chose what I believe to be the tougher fight because I love entertaining fans.

“I’m going in with the attitude that I’m going to war in front of 8000 fans against a Mexican who is a come-forward fighter, dangerous and has heavy hands. I think it has the potential to be an epic fight on an epic show.

“I’m not taking a step back and I believe he will be the same. We all now what Mexicans being to the table so I am planning to out-Mexican the Mexican.”

As far as McKenna is concerned, the Turarov fight is now off the table after this second withdrawal, but this time he does get the opportunity to fight having been left without a dance partner in Dubai.

He weighed-in as planned the day before the bout, but the Kazakh was a no-show with it later emerging a positive Covid-19 test was to blame for his withdrawal.

That means he has not boxed since losing a razor-thin decision to Ohara Davies last September, but claims there are still positives to take, one being that he now gets the chance to return in front of a passionate crowd that he feels brings out the best in him.

“I was disappointed that the April fight didn’t happen, but I wouldn’t say it was a complete waste of time because I did have a good camp under my belt,” he reflected.

“Although I haven’t fought since Ohara Davies almost year ago, I was mentally prepared for a fight in April and feel like I did have one so it wasn’t like I’ve been away for a year as I had that preparation for a fight, even though it didn’t happen.

“In hindsight, I am glad it didn’t happen because there was no crowd. I love fighting in front of a crowd.

“I’d usually be buzzing for a fight a few days before, but I have been for weeks in the lead up to this as the fans are back. Belfast fans love a boxing show and because there hasn’t been one in two years, this is going to be even more special.”

It is far from a straightforward assignment on Friday, but with risk comes reward and a victory will propel him into the WBO’s world rankings where he would be eligible for a shot at the big one in the aftermath.

The 140lb division is one of those rarest of things in modern day boxing as it has one true champion in Scotland’s Josh Taylor who holds all of the marbles and is set for a defence against Jack Catterall later in the year.

It is anticipated the winner will move up to 147 and leave the various belts vacant, so whoever emerges on Friday could find themselves in a very advantageous position to challenge for a portion of the title.

Felix will arrive determined to silence the home crowd and with his punching power, will be a huge threat on the night, but McKenna says he has prepared well and knows he can’t let this opportunity slip.

“Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall are due to fight and I expect the winner of that will move up to have a super-fight with the likes of Terence Crawford or someone like that,” he predicts.

“That would mean vacating a lot of belts, so me winning this WBO Inter-Continental will put me in the top 10 at least, maybe top five, and could end up with a world title straight away.

“This is the most important fight of my career as I could be fighting for a world title by the end of the year if all goes well here, so I have prepared well and I’m confident I will

get the job done.”

Rest of the card
Elsewhere on the card, rising star Lee McGregor will make the first defence of his European bantamweight title against former flyweight champion Vincent Legrand.

Both men have perfect records with Edinburgh's McGregor perfect through 10 fights and he puts the belt on the line against Legrand who holds a record of 32-0.

Callum Bradley will hope to make it five wins from five against Brett Fideo, while Paddy Donovan, Fearghus Quinn and debutant Cian Lewis are aso in action.